Mobile hits Donut County and Gorogoa secure top spots in Apple’s ‘Best Of 2018’ list

Apple has listed Ben Esposito’s Donut County as its 2018 iPhone game of the year.

Despite strong opposition for the top spot, indie puzzler Donut County topped Apple’s latest "Best Of" list (thanks, GamesIndustry.biz), snagging first place as the top recommended iPhone game of 2018. "Exquisite point-and-click game" Gorogoa picked up a similar accolade for best game available on iPad.

Indie games also dominated the Game of the Year for Mac shortlist, with the top recommendation going to puzzle-platformer The Gardens Between, while Alto’s Odyssey was chosen as Apple TV’s Game of the Year. Five out of the top ten apps selected for the 2018 design awards were also games; Alto’s Odyssey was shortlisted here, too, along with Florence, Frost, Oddmar, and PlayDead’s gruesome platform adventure, Inside.

Unsurprisingly, Apple also confirmed ‘Battle Royale-style gaming’ as its Game Trend of the Year.

"This year, Battle Royale-style games like Fortnite and PUBG Mobile dominated global gaming culture with exciting, last-player-standing action, while innovative apps like Fabulous, Shine, 10% Happier and Headspace expanded the practice of wellness around the world to make self-care more accessible than ever before," Apple said in a statement.

On the subject of apps, Google Play recently announced the finalists for its Change the Game design competition. Designed to promote gender diversity and encourage more women into video game careers, the program challenged teens to design a game for the chance to win a $10,000 college scholarship and $15,000 for their school’s or community centre’s technology program.

All five games are now available, for free, on the Google Play store. Not only do the top finalists get a college scholarship, they also secure a scholarship to attend Girls Make Games Summer Camp, plus trips to Los Angeles, California, to attend E3.

About Vikki Blake

It took 15 years of civil service monotony for Vikki to crack and switch to writing about games. She has since become an experienced reporter and critic working with a number of specialist and mainstream outlets in both the UK and beyond.